The Minister of Internal Affairs, was at the legislative body of Georgia within the frames of the planned interpellation in connection with the natural disaster that occurred in Racha, Oni municipality. Vakhtang Gomelauri reviewed in detail the tragic events that unfolded in Shovi and provided answers to questions raised by the members of the Georgian Parliament.

The Minister expressed his condolences to the family members and relatives of those who died as a result of the natural disaster. As Vakhtang Gomelauri noted, the disaster in Shovi is a huge tragedy for the whole country:

“First of all, I would like to express my sincere sorrow for the tragedy once again and express my condolences to the family members and relatives of the deceased. The disaster in Shovi is a huge tragedy for the whole country.

During the fight against the natural disaster, we lost employees of the law enforcement agencies – the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Defense - police Major, Mirian Chelidze and employee of the National Guard of the Ministry of Defense - Temur Kharchilava. Once again, my condolences to their families, relatives and colleagues. I would like to express my gratitude to them for being in the service of the country, their loss is a great pain for our big family.

On August 3, the disaster in Shovi occurred very quickly, a huge mass of mudflow, which according to the initial assessment of environmental protection experts was approximately 5 million cubic meters, moved towards the epicenter of the disaster and covered the territory surrounding the resort of Shovi. In the mentioned mass, few meters beneath, people were trapped. In such depth, it was practically impossible to save their lives.

A search-and-rescue operation and work in such a mass was a time consuming process. Approximately 100 (86 units) of heavy equipment managed to completely search through the mud mass so that we could locate bodies. According to recent data, as a result of the rescue operation, 32 bodies have been found and the search for 1 person is in progress, which will continue until there is a slight theoretical chance of finding one.

The bodies found in the process of the rescue operation were so damaged that it’s impossible to assume that their death did not occur instantly. Most of the bodies are dismembered and in fact body fragments are found by rescuers. There was speculation that helicopters and thermal drones could speed up the rescue efforts and save these people. I would like to explain once again that on the first day, helicopters and thermal drones worked on the ground, although even basic analysis is enough for a person to understand - with helicopters or drones, people could be found only on the surface of the ground, and it is impossible to find them underground with a helicopter or drone.

The public clearly saw that those people who survived the landslide, were safely transferred to safe area within the first hours by rescuers, police officers and citizens on the scene. For which I would like to express my gratitude towards them once again”, - said Vakhtang Gomelauri.